


hold me

by Rayoislife



Category: The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:54:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29112639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rayoislife/pseuds/Rayoislife
Summary: Tank calls in the middle of the night. Johnny figures out what he needs.
Relationships: Tank Grunt/Johnny Smith
Kudos: 5





	hold me

Johnny awoke disoriented in the dark. He didn't remember falling asleep, but here he was waking up on his living room couch. He looked around in the darkness to try to make sense of what had awoken him. His eyes went to the alarm system by the door, but it was all clear and he relaxed marginally. At least no one was trying to break in. He could hear his game console still running, but the tv was off so someone had been through since he had fallen asleep, whenever that was, and turned the tv off because the last thing Johnny remembered was playing SSX 3. The console wasn't that loud or out of the ordinary, though so that likely wasn't what woke him up. 

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Johnny nearly startled at the loud sound of his phone vibrating on the floor beside him. It must have fallen off the couch at some point after he had fallen asleep. He leaned over the couch to spot his phone face up with a call coming in. He frowned at the name and the time. It was 4:30 AM, what could Tank possibly want at this hour? Still, he found himself answering it. 

"Hello?" 

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before Tank's voice came through and it came through as a whisper. 

"Can you open your door?" 

It was Johnny's turn to take a pause, but he nodded before realizing Tank couldn't see him. "Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Just do it." That was apparently the end of the discussion as Tank hung up on him without another word. Johnny's frown deepened, but he got up from the couch and went to disarm the alarm system before opening his front door and Johnny couldn't help the wince of sympathy when he saw Tank on the other side. 

Tank looked as he always did, but he was sporting a mean looking black eye that was still swelling by the look of it, and had obviously been hit several times prior to that by someone sporting a ring because he had several small cuts on his face as well. Tank was holding himself a little awkwardly and had a go-bag at his feet. 

"I know I'm pretty and all, but are you going to stare at me all night or let me in?" Tank demanded, but his voice didn't hold the same conviction it usually did.

"Tank. What--" 

"Smith, I swear to the Watcher, you finish that question and I'll end you where you are." It was clear Tank didn't feel up to answering questions. 

Johnny put his hands up in a placating manner and then stepped aside for Tank to come in. Tank reached for his bag and let out a small grunt that Johnny could only guess meant more pain, but he wisely didn't ask. He didn't offer to help, either. Tank was just as likely to take that the wrong way, too, and that would just end up in another fight. He watched Tank struggle with his bag and then stumble his way inside, but it was painful to do nothing. Johnny waited for Tank to close the door before arming it again. 

"We've got a first aid kit in the bathroom," Johnny offered as he stood there in the silence of his own home with a beaten down Tank Grunt. It was never a situation he thought he'd find himself in. 

Tank seemed to be taking in his new surroundings and Johnny realized that the other teen had never seen the inside of the house before. When picking up Buck from playdates with Jill, Tank always waited on the porch. 

Tank nodded and it took Johnny half a second to realize he was answering the offer, not approving of the house. He couldn't see much of the house in the dark anyway. Johnny looked Tank over in the darkness and decided on the best course of action. "Come on," he said as he started up the stairs, careful to be quiet so as not to wake his family up so early. He was just glad it was the weekend. 

Once upstairs, Johnny lead Tank into his bedroom and flipped on the light. He winced at seeing the wounds up close this time and under direct fluorescent lights. "I'll be right back with the kit." 

Johnny tried not to think about how Tank ended up like this and so early in the morning. It wasn't like Tank to pick fights in the middle of the night. And most fights he won easily with his muscle mass alone. Johnny grabbed the kit from the bathroom cabinet and headed back to his bedroom. He opened the door quietly and slipped inside to find Tank bent over himself on the bed with his face in his hands, shoulders shaking slightly. "Tank?" He asked, approaching carefully.

Tank stilled instantly, muscles freezing all at once, and Johnny froze, too. But then Tank looked up and he had tears in his eyes and tracking down his face. Johnny's heart plummeted to his feet. He didn't think Tank was capable of crying, but here he was, trembling still with tears running down his cheeks. Johnny met Tank's eyes and didn't find a challenge there so he continued his approach and set the kit on the bed beside Tank before kneeling in front of the younger teen. "Let's get you cleaned up," Johnny said, opening the kit. He wanted to ask so many things, but he knew better. Tank would tell him in his own time. 

Surprisingly, Tank allowed Johnny to clean the cuts on his face without any protests and Johnny stayed quiet as he continued to clean the blood off Tank's face. He felt more than heard Tank sigh. 

"The General," he started, and Johnny did his best not to pause in what he was doing. "He found out. I don't know how." 

Satisfied with his work, Johnny closed the kit and thought carefully on his next words. "Won't this be the first place he looks for you, then?" He asked, trying to keep his tone neutral. 

Tank scoffed and shook his head, eyes down. "He won't be looking for me," he answered, voice raw with emotion. 

Johnny stood up from his spot on the floor and instead sat beside Tank on the bed, just close enough that they could be touching if Tank leaned just an inch towards him. He heard Tank's breath hitch and then the younger boy was nearly in his lap, face pressed to his chest and Johnny wrapped his arms around Tank securely. He wasn't sure how he should comfort Tank seeing that he usually didn't need comfort. "You can stay here. I can talk to my parents in the morning," he said, rubbing at Tank's muscular back. 

"I'm sorry," Tank's voice was muffled and sounded small. 

Johnny pulled away from the embrace, forcing Tank to look at him, and frowned. "What are you sorry for?" He asked, his hands framing Tank's face gently. 

Tank shrugged and looked beyond Johnny's shoulder. "For this, for being a mess, for being a burden." 

Sweeping his thumb below Tank's uninjured eye, Johnny wiped away the tears still streaming down his face. "You're not a burden. We knew something like this could happen." 

"Johnny," Tank sighed sounding agitated. "I never thought he'd disown me." 

Johnny shrugged. "Maybe you didn't, but I kind of figured he would. I never thought he'd hit you, though." He ran his hand down Tank's face careful of his injuries. "I never imagined he'd hit you."

Tank ducked his head and bit at his bottom lip. "I threw the first punch," he admitted quietly. 

Johnny blinked at that revelation. "What?"

"He said I should break up with you and implied some not so pleasant things I'd rather not repeat." Tank said with another shrug. "I lost my temper and threw a punch." 

A warmth spread through Johnny's chest and he couldn't help smiling despite the situation. He had never imagined that Tank would stand up to his father, much less over him, and he was both pleased and proud of Tank. "I'm proud of you." 

"For punching The General and getting my ass kicked? And disowned?" Tank asked, frowning at Johnny. 

"For standing up to him for once," Johnny clarified. "Even if you got disowned for it. I'm proud of you." 

Tank stared at Johnny for a long minute. Johnny was used to this by now. Sometimes Tank did it to make a point. Sometimes it was because he was speechless. Sometimes he was searching for something that Johnny could only guess at. Whatever the reason this time, Tank relaxed after and blinked at Johnny before giving him a rare, small smile. "Yeah?" 

Those smiles really were to be treasured. Tank could laugh and did, frequently since they'd gotten together, but he rarely smiled even when it was just the two of them. Johnny nodded. "Yeah. Really proud." He pronounced this with a kiss to Tank's nose. 

With a laugh bordering on a giggle, Tank surged forward and initiated a real kiss. It wasn't often that Tank did initiate kisses or even hand-holding so when he did Johnny appreciated the moments more. It meant Tank was getting comfortable with him, with them. Johnny was the one to break the kiss with a smile, but it faded as he brushed his hands against Tank's sides to try to readjust his position and Tank winced. 

"Where else are you hurt?" He asked, his fingers curling at the edge of Tank's shirt to lift it up. 

"It's fine," Tank tugged at his shirt as well to keep Johnny from lifting it up. "There's nothing that you can do about bruised ribs, anyway." 

Johnny sighed and removed his hands from Tank's shirt. "And you're sure that they're just bruised and not broken?" 

Tank nodded. "I'm sure, trust me. It's just not a pretty sight."

"Ok, I trust you." Johnny resituated his hands carefully and adjusted Tank so that the younger boy was properly on his lap. "Now we should probably get some sleep before having to talk to my parents." 

"Sleep sounds good." Tank agreed, but remained where he was with his arms linked behind Johnny's neck. 

Johnny laughed quietly and kissed Tank. It was meant to be quick and short, but Tank had other ideas as he deepened it almost immediately and Johnny was taken aback by it. They had been taking it really slow since Tank was still getting over his own prejudices that had been drilled into him, but he kissed back, opening up to it, and tilted his head slightly to get a better angle. He let his tongue slide against Tank's with a soft moan. His hands once again found the edge of Tank's shirt and his fingers skated across the muscular stomach, reveling in the way those muscles rippled under his touch. He felt Tank shiver before he broke the kiss. 

"You can sleep in here and I'll sleep on the couch," Johnny said after a moment of catching his breath. He patted Tank's thigh gently and removed his arms from around him to signal he should get up. 

Tank moved slowly, but did get up from Johnny's lap with a sigh. "Alright." 

Johnny stood up from the bed and kissed Tank one last time. "Goodnight." 

"Night, Johnny." Tank responded before slipping beneath the covers on the bed. Johnny hit the light on the way out of the room and went back down to the couch.


End file.
